Aaron Massey accuses Dwyte Pilgrim of not repaying Loan

Lending and borrowing is quite common in the poker world. Unfortunately, so are instances where these loans don’t get paid back, which poker pro Aaron Massey recently found out the hard way. Massey claims to have lent $7,500 to fellow poker pro Dwyte Pilgrim and hasn’t been repaid since.

The two sparked a friendship shortly after Pilgrim won the 2010 Borgata Poker Open along with $733,802. They remained friends for a few years, including when Massey won the Winstar River Poker Series Main Event and $651,559. Massey felt like Pilgrim was treating him even friendlier after this, but so was everybody else after his big score. Then came the night when Pilgrim decided to ask his friend for a pretty substantial loan.

“In January 2013 we were at Borgata,” Massey said. “It was the day before the WPT Main Event. I had just won a prelim a few days prior, and Dwyte knew I had money in the safe in my room. He texted me and asked if he could come to my room to talk about something very serious and it had to be in person. He showed up somber, and started to tell me a story. He said that his bank account had been frozen just days prior. He said he got a notice that it would be frozen for 40 days as they cleared up the issue. He explained his story and then asked me if I could lend him $7,500.

“I was weary, and I said to him, verbatim, ‘If this story isn’t true, and I lend you money based on a lie, and I don’t get paid back then it is the same as stealing.’ He agreed, got defensive, and once again mentioned our friendship as reason why he would never lie or steal from me.”

After 40 days of no repayment, Massey continued trying to set up ways for Pilgrim to pay him, even if it meant just $1 per week. But his former friend even refused this request, instead offering excuses and perceived lies. Massey says it’s at this point when he began finding out that other poker players, such as 3-time WSOP champ Brian Hastings, had also been fleeced by Pilgrim. He now sees his former buddy as nothing more than a con artist.

“He basically told me that if I kept talking to him that way that my life may be in jeopardy. He was even brazen enough to text me threats as well,” Massey explained. “As you can see, Dwyte will take advantage of anyone. The haves, the have not’s, the flush, the bust, it just doesn’t matter to him. He’s a preservationist, a parasite, willing to survive by any means necessary. His prey is any human being with money. Anyone he can take advantage of. He is a self-serving con artist.”

You can see more on this story, including Pilgrim’s response, at PokerNews.